Winne Banta Files Lawsuit Which May Overturn New Jersey Wine Retail Statutes

A lawsuit was filed on July 3, 2019 by Winne Banta in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey which may end New Jersey law that prohibits the shipment of wine to consumers by out-of-state retailers.  The suit seeks to overturn New Jersey law that prohibits direct shipments of wine to consumers by out-of-state wine stores, while allowing shipments by in-state retail wine stores.  The plaintiffs are three New Jersey residents who are wine collectors, as well as a wine store in New York.

The suit was brought by Gary S. Redish, Esq. and Michael J. Cohen, Esq. of Winne Banta, Robert Epstein, Esq. of Epstein Cohen Seif & Porter in Indianapolis, and Professor J. Alexander Tanford of Indiana University Law School.  This follows an earlier case which the same team filed and was successful in a lawsuit in Federal Court in New Jersey and the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit which forced New Jersey to adopt new statutes and regulations permitting out-of-state wineries that register with the State of New Jersey to ship wine to New Jersey residents.

If the Plaintiffs prevail in the new case, consumers may be able to bypass their local New Jersey wine stores and buy wine by telephone or via the internet from out of state retailers and have the wine shipped to them via Federal Express, UPS or similar services.

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